WINCHESTER, Tenn. (WTVF) — School buses in Franklin County did not run on Tuesday morning, with the exception of special services, following a possible driver strike.
Officials with the school district said only buses 25, 89(42), 15, 49, 12 and 20 ran Tuesday afternoon and will be running on Wednesday afternoon. Buses 12 and 20 will be covering the same double routes.
On Monday night, Franklin County Sheriff Tim Fuller warned that school buses might not roll in the morning. Parents are advised to take notice because the continued strike will affect their commutes.
Fuller said he heard that many — if not all — of the bus drivers would not go to work on Tuesday morning.
"It could be chaos in the morning," Fuller said.
The Franklin County Commission reportedly did not approve the budget in a dispute with the school board. As a result, the contracted bus drivers for the county's eleven schools will not be getting their expected pay increases. They have not had one in years.
This decision has the potential to affect hundreds of children.
The Franklin County School Board met on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. The meeting lasted 13 minutes. A revised budget was voted unanimously to be sent back to the County Commission for approval. It includes raises for teachers and bus drivers.
The Franklin County Commission will hold a special called meeting on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. to vote on the budget. If the budget is not submitted by midnight on Wednesday, the state will get involved in setting the county budget.
